The University of Washington, Bothell will host a Space Huskies Science Fair from 6-8 p.m. June 11 in the UW-Bothell North Creek Events Center.

The Space Huskies program, now in its fourth year, fuels an early interest in science by bringing elementary and middle-school students into collaboration with UW-Bothell undergraduates to explore the challenges of human settlement on Mars. The project theme, “What makes a good Mars community?” allows the exploration and study of science to be structured in a dynamic and interactive way that enhances learning. Teams reflect upon our own communities on Earth and pick out elements that will be suitable for a Mars colony. Projects created by fifth- and sixth-graders from Woodin, Totem Falls, Maywood Hills, Lafayette, Redmond and Madison elementary schools, as well as Evergreen Middle School and will be on display at the fair.

Retired NASA Astronaut Wendy Lawrence, a veteran of four space flights with more than 1,225 logged hours in space, will provide a keynote presentation followed by a question-and-answer period.

Partial funding for the science fair comes from Nintendo of America.

The event is free and open to the public.